Blue Ribbon
by Whispering Sands
Summary: Gilgamesh can get any woman. Except the woman he wants. Charming the King of Knights isn't as easy as he previously thought. [Gilgamesh/Saber]
1. She

**Title** – Blue Ribbon.  
**Genre **- Romance.  
**(Main) Characters** - Gilgamesh + Saber.  
**Rating** - For now, it is T.

**Author**: Whispering Sands.  
**Note**: I, of course, do not own the _Fate/Zero_ franchise. This is my first try at writing a fanfiction on these two, so I sure hope you all enjoy it. Thank you for reading, and reviews are always appreciated.

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**1.**

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It was common knowledge that King Gilgamesh was an _ass_.

A variety of men and women were bedded by him, and a variety of men and women claimed to be in love with him and that he loved them back. Rarely did someone ever say Gilgamesh was "rude" or "spoilt" or "arrogant". The courage to do so would result in death. Gilgamesh didn't have much patience for criticism. More to the point, he hated to be proved _wrong_. Being wrong was humiliating and damaged his reputation as King.

The slightest insult and Gilgamesh would order an immediate execution. Many believed him to be heartless and greedy. All he desired was material wealth, and company at night. All he desired was what was best for him, not for anyone else. Yet, it was that _fear_. That fear of his power. Not only did Gilgamesh possess authority and a _lot of it_, but he was incredibly powerful as well. Born to a God, he would be. His Kingship was glorified and he easily won countless land for himself. People strangely admired him, but he wasn't _loved_.

Gilgamesh, himself, hadn't loved. Although he said to have loved a woman or a man, it was a poisonous lie. He strongly held the view that _no one_ deserved to be loved by such a magnificent, heroic King. Plus, what sort of King fell for such a pathetic emotion? Not Gilgamesh. The King was a lion, filled with pride and a thirst for blood and victory. His beauty was a charm against the enemy, and a brilliant trick to steal the hearts of his people, but he never loved. The capability to wasn't in his grasp.

So, after pints and pints of his favourite wine, Gilgamesh was about to shock his companion, Kirei Kotomine. Fortunately, his friend had stayed away from the alcohol – for the most part. Gilgamesh, on the other hand, had downed four bottles as if his life depended on it. Yet it was fairly reasonable of him to waste away an evening like this. Rarely did Gilgamesh ever express sensitivity. Actually, as far as Kirei was concerned, he never _did_. But, as long as Gilgamesh forgot about this embarrassing state of consciousness, then it wouldn't matter.

Once Gilgamesh had gone into drunk ramblings and even attempted to flirt with the man (which was unsuccessful). Tonight was the second time for Kirei to witness him drunk, but he had a feeling it wouldn't mirror before, because, that night, Gilgamesh was smiling and dancing in the middle of the room. Currently, his face was down on the table. Kirei gathered Gilgamesh was either joyful when drunk, or utterly miserable, and he wasn't sure which Gilgamesh he preferred the most.

The conversation had transformed drastically from The Holy Grail, to Kirei's deceased wife. Personally, Kirei would rather not talk about her. Clinging onto the past hadn't done him many favours. Gilgamesh was insistent, though. _Very_ insistent. So, for the next half hour, Kirei revealed _some_ facts about his wife, and was surprised Gilgamesh hadn't mocked him. Instead, the King of Heroes was completely silent, nodding when it was appropriate and gulping down wine every five seconds. Kirei didn't like it when Gilgamesh was acting so sensitively. It left him quite unnerved.

'Anyway, that's enough about my wife.' Kirei tapped his fingers around the rim of his glass. 'What about you? Were you ever married?'

Gilgamesh laughed, accidentally pouring red wine into his lap. 'Oh, I would be! I _am_, but I just need my wife to marry me.' Then he moaned and smacked his face onto the table again.

'Usually marriage has to be involved in order for someone to be your wife.'

'I don't go by your rules.'

Kirei frowned, then decided there was no point in debating over this. 'So who is she then? This wife you haven't married yet?'

Raising his head, Gilgamesh stared at the wall for a moment, before finishing his bottle of wine. He didn't enjoy acting so open, especially with a man he hardly knew. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was because he was feeling blue in the first place. Whatever it was, his confession was effortless as it slipped from his lips.

'Saber.' Miserably, he rested his forehead onto the table again. 'And she has yet to get back to me on my proposal.'


	2. Daffodil

**2.**

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It was hard to pinpoint _when_ exactly Gilgamesh started to develop feelings for Saber. The man had never loved before; not in the purest sense. During his glory days as King, Gilgamesh had a variety of lovers, in which most returned to his bed. However he never _loved_ any of them. For fun, he might claim to, but the actual strong, deep, powerful emotion had never been embraced before. It never occurred to him that he was missing out on a huge element in life.

All of the women he knew weren't like Saber. During his reign, Gilgamesh was brought up to believe women were simply inferior. They were good for domestic chores, but what Gilgamesh mainly saw women for was sex. Sex was good, sex was brilliant, and it was what Gilgamesh loved. It was always wonderful to wrap up warm next to a curvaceous body, and, when he felt like it, Gilgamesh might invite a man to join them. Whatever the case, Gilgamesh enjoyed company.

Saber was different, though. No woman had ever said "no" to Gilgamesh. He was used to a woman laying down everything for him. Any woman would be absolutely honoured to take his hand in marriage. Not Saber. She was different, because she said "no", and she kept on saying it. Even when he had broken her bones and bruised her body, she still said "no". Even when he blackmailed her on the spot, Saber still said "no", and there wasn't an ounce of fear in her eyes.

To say Gilgamesh was seduced by her resistance would be an understatement. It was _exciting_. Finally a woman –– _someone _–– was challenging him. All his life people had obeyed his commands and wishes, agreed to everything he said. Then Saber came into the picture, and everything was no longer about him. She might be a woman, but she was not one of _his_ women. Her stubbornness and passion for her duty was _beautiful_. No woman he knew behaved in this manner, and no woman he knew had the knowledge on how to pick up a sword, let alone _swing_ it.

If he gave her the opportunity to a fair fight, Gilgamesh hated to believe she actually had a chance in beating him. Armour was useless. They may as well battle naked, it wouldn't make any difference. Both were equally powerful in their own way. However, Gilgamesh wasn't _that_ kind. _If_ they were to have a proper fight, he would make sure he didn't play nice with her. He would make sure she lost the battle, bleeding and _begging_ for mercy. That was what he desired, for her to look up at him on her knees.

The very thought sent a chill up his spine.

'What's this meant to be?'

Gilgamesh frowned. 'A flower.'

'I can see that, but what does it _mean_?'

Raising his brows, he wondered if Saber was teasing him. If she was acting flirtatious in her own way; playing dumb. Then he remembered –– this was _Saber_. 'It can mean whatever you want it to mean.' Smiling crookedly, he neared her. 'When men give a lady a flower, the flower usually resembles their beauty. To me, this is quite a beautiful flower.'

'How vain. Let me guess, as soon as this "beautiful" flower wilts it's thrown away. Is that how you treat women, Gilgamesh? As soon as they're no longer nice to look at, you shove them aside.' She didn't need an answer. Saber knew the truth.

Shocked and, honestly, a little offended, Gilgamesh replied, 'I'd never shove _you_ aside. That is not what a King does to his Queen.'

'I'm not your _Queen_,' Saber insisted, tightening her grip around the flower. 'Why are you here anyway? Don't you have someone else to annoy, or a mirror to kiss?' Turning away, she lifted her blade slightly, and focussed on the target ahead. For the past half hour, Saber had been training. An hour a day was long enough. Her Master – Kiritsugu – was rarely seen in the large home he owned, so usually Saber had the grounds to herself. The privacy was pleasant, and she was accustomed to loneliness.

Gilgamesh's presence was _not_ welcomed.

Sighing, Gilgamesh stayed put. 'Do you think about my kisses, Saber? Am I... the _subject_ of your imagination?'

It was difficult to not decapitate the man then and there. 'Yes.'

'Really?'

'You're always _dying_ in the worst way possible.'

Gilgamesh shut his mouth, paused, then opened it again: 'You _are_ gruesome.'

'I could be worse.' She glanced at him. 'Much worse.'

Facing the target again, Saber quickly dashed forwards and swiped her blade upwards. The impact was impressive, and she managed to break the target to bits. It felt quite good as well, but as soon as she heard Gilgamesh's clapping, her mood instantly dropped again. Was he here out of boredom? Or did he have an actual _reason _to disturb her? She didn't think Kiritsugu would appreciate it if she were caught getting friendly with the enemy, and she wasn't particularly in favour of that herself.

Stepping forwards Gilgamesh picked up the flower she had dropped to the floor. It was a daffodil, and was the brightest he found. He would have preferred to have given Saber an entire bouquet of daffodils but thought maybe she would just prefer the individual one. Personally, he was all for show and excessiveness, but Saber wasn't like him in that regard. It was some effort, but he used his brain and thought about what she would want more.

By the looks of it, though, a _flower_ wasn't going to warm her heart.

'You're agile.' No response. 'Such tiny feet, and they move so fast! But agility isn't everything. Precision and strength are key, and knowledge––'

'Don't give me a lecture. Also, if we're going to be discussing knowledge, then you clearly fail in that department. If you had the _slightest_ of common sense, you'd realise that being here, with me, is a bad mistake.'

'I like to be with you.'

'You're a pain.'

'Pain is good, Saber. Boosts your strength and immunity.'

'This may surprise you, but I am aware of the hardships of being a swordsman, and a _King_.'

'Are you aware of the hardships of being a swords_woman_, though?' Gilgamesh placed his hands on his hips, and gazed down at her. 'You pretend to act so prideful of who you are, but you can't even bring yourself to acknowledge your gender.'

Something snapped. Saber glared at him, and he noted how her sword hand was shaking, desperate to move, to slice him into shreds. Oh, what a pleasure that would be. 'My gender is irrelevant. My gender doesn't affect me, and you're a fool if you let it affect you.'

'Then why call yourself a swords_man_? Or a _King_?'

'Because the term swords_woman_ didn't exist during my era, and a Queen was always belittled. Her title meant nothing. Don't mistake me for frowning at my gender, when I am, in fact, frowning at the disgusting sexism thrown my way. It's easy for you to criticise me for not using the correct terms in your book but, as far as you're concerned, whether or not I label myself as swordsman or swordswoman, I'm just a _woman_ to you. That's all I am. Something for you to _own_, a prize.' Saber knew tonight wasn't a time for battle; they didn't need to unsheathe their blade and fight. So, she let her sword disappear from her hand. 'I am not _owned_ by anyone.'

When she turned away, Gilgamesh smiled, and lowered his head. It was a pleasure to hear Saber defend herself, even if most of the time he found her funny. 'I suppose not.' Approaching her, he quickly brought two strong arms around her thin waist and pulled her close to his chest. Saber tensed at once and struggled out of his grip, but she was petite and not as strong as he. Smile still stretched across his lips, Gilgamesh nestled his nose into her hair. 'But you're still a _lady_ to me, Saber.' Then he dared himself to let his hands travel up the curve of her waist and pinch her tenderly.

Saber rammed her heel into his foot, which encouraged Gilgamesh to release her. Grinning ear-to-ear, he looked down at her enraged expression.

'You're adorable when you're mad.'

'Careful. If you don't believe I can kill you here and now, then you're terribly mistaken.'

'I believe you, Saber. But you're in for a challenge if you think you can beat _me_.' Without warning, he titled her chin with his hand. 'And I'd _love_ for you to _challenge_ me.'

Grabbing his hand, Saber aggressively yanked him away from her. Despite her small figure, she was relatively strong, and her squeeze on his hand was painful. 'Even if you think about me _challenging_ you, Gilgamesh, it's not going to happen anytime soon. You're not worth the energy.'

'Oh, I think about you, Saber. I think about you _all the time_.'

The last thing she wanted to know was _that_, but his comment was, by far, the last straw. Saber didn't want to hang around for much longer; this idiot was driving her crazy, but she found it difficult to walk away. She couldn't walk away from him. Her walking away would feed on his pride, plus she didn't want him to enjoy the _view_. For the first time, Saber was convinced she actually _hated_ someone.

'You must live a lonely life if all you think about is someone out of reach,' she muttered.

'Ha! You must live a lonely life if you have time to train every day.'

'Be quiet. I spend my time doing something _productive_.'

'Mm, so do I~' He winked.

'Will you just leave me be, please?'

'Why? Haven't you noticed I spent a lot of time making myself look neat and handsome when I came to see you? I styled my hair differently. I wanted you to notice; I wanted you to _swoon_.'

Saber didn't notice his hair, to be honest. When she did look, though, she realised he was right. His hair was usually spiky, but, this time, he had combed it neatly to the side. This new style made him appear more tame than anything and she didn't think it suited him.

Not that she cared or anything.

'Good luck with that result.'

'... Do you not think I'm handsome, Saber?'

The King of Knights had been asked many questions in her life. Some hard, some emotional, and some just plain stupid. This was _beyond_ stupid. Nothing was more humiliating than having to stroke Gilgamesh's ego. Now, she knew she was stumped. Walking away would imply she thought he was attractive, and if she was silent, he would take that as a silent "yes". Saber hated to lie, though. As King, she couldn't lie. It was her duty and obligation to be honest.

Did such obligations matter with this fool?

Looking at him, she realised he was _sincere_. The smug grin had vanished, and his expression had softened into a form of concern and curiosity. 'Why does what I say matter?'

'Everything you say _matters_.'

Saber glanced away. Was he serious? No! Surely not. Gilgamesh, of all people, would not hold her opinion in high esteem. Would he? 'You're all right, I suppose.'

'All right?'

'Yes.'

'All right...' Gilgamesh tapped his finger on his lower lip. 'Hm. All right, she says.' The smile returned, and there was a funny glimmer in his eyes. 'I've been called many wonderful things, Saber: sexy, hot, beautiful, gorgeous, handsome, amazing. All right is definitely a new one.' He chuckled and twirled a curl of blonde hair behind her ear. Saber instantly flinched back. 'I like it.'

Saber was silent, finding his response bizarre. He was _flattered_.

'You do know I've _never _worn it in this style either, yes?'

Seriously? Saber couldn't believe he was pushing this. What else did he want her to say? If he expected her to flaunt over him, then he was going to be disappointed. Saber didn't _flaunt_, especially over a new hairstyle. Was that all Gilgamesh thought about? _Himself_ and what others thought of him? 'Yes, I know you've never had that style before!' The words slipped. She was so frustrated and impatient with him, the words admittedly just slipped.

That was exactly what Gilgamesh wanted, though. For her to _slip_. 'Really?' He ran a hand through his hair. 'I'm glad you did. I'm glad you love it, too.'

'I–' _Wait_, 'I never said that!'

'You thought it.'

Saber was exhausted with this ridiculous discussion. 'I think about a lot of things, Gilgamesh.'

_I know_. If there was one thing Gilgamesh knew about Saber, it was that she thought _too much_. Although she had trained herself well to get emotions out of the way, she was human, and it was _difficult_ to remain stoic. _But you just keep going_. It was admirable. Gilgamesh, although it embarrassed him, found Saber an admirable figure. Despite the pressure thrown at her, and what she had been through –– more than he could imagine –– she still stood on her own two feet.

'It's hard to be happy when you think all the time.'

For once, Gilgamesh had a point. Yet she couldn't resist to mock him slightly, 'Is that why you're so ignorant?'

'How very amusing.'

It was nice, witnessing this other side of Saber which no one knew. This _spunky_ side of her, or whatever it was. She wasn't completely all about business. However, in order to see this other side, one would have to be _very_ special indeed. Gilgamesh wondered if the pleasure would ever be his. If she would ever trust him, let him in, have faith.

Yes, sometimes he let his imagination get the better of him.

But it was _fun_ to think about.

'Kirei will start to wonder where I've disappeared to, and I _hate_ to keep that gentleman waiting.' When he winked at her again, Saber just looked away in disgust. He stepped forwards and delicately placed the daffodil neatly into her hair. 'Stay safe, Saber. I'd hate it if anything happened to you.' Before she could turn around and scold him for assuming she would _have_ anything done to her, Gilgamesh had vanished, golden dust left in his trail.

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**Note**: Thank you to **fortaleza**** sayajin**, **StreakingHerculobus**, **Florallover** and **Shaaniqua** for offering your kind feedback on the previous chapter. **Florallover**, you made excellent points and what I'm about to say will probably disappoint you in which I apologise. Personally I'm not fond of _Fate/Stay Night_. In a way, this story is an alternative sequel, but, I admit, the setting isn't very clear. This _is_ set after the Fourth Holy Grail War, though, but, as you can tell, Saber has not disappeared. For now, that's all I can say. I don't intend for this story to be all-around-serious. Just some fun and silliness.


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